Nuclear waste safety improved with IBM

When they went looking for a business intelligence system that would last for millennia, Spain's radioactive waste managers spoke to IBM...

The safe disposal of nuclear waste is one of the most important issues confronting society with many countries conducting large-scale research for efficient waste disposal.

Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radiactivos, S.A. (ENRESA) is a non-profit organisation set up by the Spanish Parliament in 1984 to manage the disposal of radioactive waste generated in Spain. Spain has nine nuclear reactors that produce about a third of the country's electricity.

In addition, there are around 1300 medical, research and industrial facilities authorised to use radioisotopes, of which 600 generate radioactive waste.

ENRESA’s main missions include the removal, transport, treatment, storage, disposal and control of radioactive waste as well as the dismantling of disused nuclear and radioactive facilities, the environmental restoration of uranium mines and extensive research projects.

The challenge
With the active life of nuclear waste being measured in the thousands of years, the nuclear industry has unique information preservation issues - needing to preserve records and the knowledge of how to use the information for millennia.

In the past ENRESA employed a paper-intensive business model which provided the organisation with little flexibility and took up a lot of physical space.

It was difficult to have clear visibility of how processes were working and where they might be improved.

To effectively deal with the pressure of compliance and the constant flood of paper documents, ENRESA went in search of a reliable storage, archiving and backup solution which offered complete data and document security.

The IBM solution
The company’s primary requirement was a system that delivered the reliability and scalability to convert all existing paper-based documents to electronic images, and would then support the development of new business processes and workflows.

ENRESA considered solutions from various providers but the IBM solution based on IBM FileNet Business Process Manager and Records Manager was successful.

IBM was selected for its stability and reliability to help ensure that ENRESA employees would have fast, seamless access to key information, and the solution would fully support the growing amounts of information stored.

Scalability was also of critical importance to ENRESA in ensuring that the solution could eventually be rolled-out across all business units.

The first phase of the implementation went live in April 2006. IBM’s partner Indra (formerly Azertia) was responsible for consultancy, specification and the implementation of the workflow solution.

The implementation followed an evolutionary approach. Instead of delivering the new system in a single “big bang” ENRESA and Indra developed the system incrementally, a strategy that allows for tailored business processes along the way.

IBM runs with Tomcat as the web application server and uses MSSQL Server 2000 as the database.

Windows 2003 Server is installed as the operating system.

The solution is used for all documents and records relating to ENRESA’s corporate and departmental documentation.

The system currently handles 36.000 documents per year and about 550 documents are being added each week.

“The new solution provided a perfect match for our requirements and IBM demonstrated a high degree of industry knowledge and proven experience,” says Fernando de Andrés Riofrío, Project Manager of ECM. “The solution offered by IBM was the strongest technical fit and the most risk free.”

The benefits
The implementation went live in October 2007. Now, ENRESA has a secure, viable system that gives it the capability to comply with information regulations.

250 users at ENRESA’s headquarters in Madrid and at their local offices in Córdoba and Tarragona are working with the new workflow solution today.

All documents relevant to the operation are scanned and automatically recognised, with the detailed data automatically being read and stored in a single, secure, managed repository searchable by index and readily retrievable. Before its IBM implementation, ENRESA spent significantly more time processing, filing and, most notably, retrieving documents.

Employees had to manually search through physical files for the required documents.

Now, they are able to electronically retrieve the  same documents in a fraction of the time. Each user has access to a personal workspace for the management of working documents.

With less time spent searching for physical documentation, the average time spent for document retrieval is significantly reduced making for an overall better organisational performance.

The IBM solution provides a common user environment that allows employees to manage information that cuts across multiple processes.

“With the new solution, we can now change a single component and the change is automatically replicated in every process in which it appears,” explained de Andrés Riofrío. “This feature alone has greatly improved the way we work.”

IBM has significantly reduced document retrieval and process time, while simultaneously increasing the level of management control.

All documents are held in a highly secure environment. No document can be deliberately or accidentally accessed directly.

The security works hand in hand with ‘active directory’ logins and passwords. Different levels of security can be applied to different document types e.g. some people view only, others can view and edit. This affords ENRESA’s total accountability on every piece of information held within the organisation.

Outlook
IBM has contributed to ENRESA’s compliance with national and regional regulatory requirements through the intelligent identification, management and retention of all data, enabling rapid retrieval of key business information.

The new workflow solution enables ENRESA to centrally capture documents and manage both structured and unstructured content under its own business policies as well as industry regulations.Continuing its phased roll-out ENRESA is looking at ways of improving its business processes even further.

Fernando de Andrés Riofrío comments: “The IBM solution is a first class product with very impressive capabilities. While every technology deployment comes with its own unique set of challenges, I have no doubts that IBM was the right choice.”

For more information
www-07.ibm.com/businesscenter/au/istart/index.html

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